For Release:
321-867-2468 Oct. 20,
2000
KSC RELEASE NO. 89 - 00
NOTE TO EDITORS:
DISCOVERY SCHEDULED TO LAND AT KSC COMPLETING MISSION STS-92
The orbiter Discovery is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center
on Sunday, Oct. 22, at about 2:14 p.m. EDT completing its 11-day STS-92
mission that was launched from KSC Oct. 11, 2000.
Landing at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) is slated to occur
on orbit 169 at mission elapsed time 10 days, 18 hours, 57 minutes.
Deorbit burn will occur at about 1:07 p.m. EDT.
The two KSC landing opportunities Sunday are: 2:14 p.m. and 3:50
p.m.
Managers will not call up the back-up landing location at
Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), CA, for landing support on Sunday.
If managers must keep Discovery in orbit an additional day,
two landing opportunities are available Monday at KSC and two at EAFB.
KSC Monday landing times are: 2:51 p.m. and 4:27 p.m. EDT.
EAFB Monday landing times are: 4:58 p.m. and 7:34 p.m. EDT.
This landing of Discovery will mark the 53rd landing at KSC
in the history of Space Shuttle flight. It will be the 24th consecutive
landing at KSC. Discovery is currently on the 100th Space Shuttle mission
in the history of the program.
SLF and KSC Ground Operations
The Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. It is 300 feet
wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The strip
runs northwest to southeast and is located about 3 miles northwest of the
525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.
Once the orbiter is on the ground, safing operations will commence
and the flight crew will prepare the vehicle for post-landing operations.
The Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) will be used to assist the crew, allowing
them to leave the vehicle and remove their launch and re-entry suits
easier and quicker.
The CTV and other KSC landing convoy operations have been
"on-call" since the launch of Discovery. The primary functions of the
Space Shuttle recovery convoy are to provide immediate service to the
orbiter after landing, assist crew egress, and prepare the orbiter for
towing to the Orbiter Processing Facility.
Convoy vehicles are stationed at the SLF's mid-point. About two
hours prior to landing, convoy personnel will don SCAPE suits, or
Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, and communications checks
are made. A warming-up of coolant and purge equipment is conducted and
nearly two dozen convoy vehicles are positioned to move onto the runway as
quickly and as safely as possible once the orbiter coasts to a stop. When
the vehicle is deemed safe of all potential explosive hazards and toxic
gases, the purge and coolant umbilical access vehicles move into position
at the rear of the orbiter.
Following purge and coolant operations, flight crew egress
preparations will begin and the CTV will be moved into position at the
crew access hatch located on the orbiter's port side. A physician will
board the Shuttle and conduct a brief preliminary examination of the
astronauts. The crew will then make preparations to leave the vehicle.
Following departure from the SLF, the crew will be taken to their
quarters in the O&C Building, meet with their families and undergo
physical examinations. The crew is scheduled to remain at KSC overnight
and depart for Johnson Space Center on Monday.
If Discovery lands at Edwards, an augmented KSC convoy team will
be
on-site to safe the vehicle, disembark the crew and move the orbiter to
the
Mate/Demate Device. The turnaround team will be deployed to Edwards by
charter aircraft on landing day.
About 3W* hours after Discovery lands at KSC, the orbiter will be
towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility for post-flight deservicing.
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